Mac Pro video cards are dropping like flies, but Apple has a plan to help

Graphics issues on a computer can be a real burden when it comes down to it. Wonky, unstable video, random restarts or power-downs, or even no video at all can emerge as side effects of a defective graphics card. On the bright side, we’ll occasionally see companies step up to the plate and fess up to their mistakes.

This is the case with Apple who, according to an internal notice received by MacRumors, has realized that certain late 2013 Mac Pro models, built between February 8 and April 11, 2015, are running into these very types of issues. Fortunately, the Cupertino company is willing to fix your workstation for the attractive cost of absolutely nothing.

That’s right, and you can have this issue fixed in three to five days as long as you book an appointment at your local Apple Store’s Genius Bar or make a trip to a nearby Apple Authorized Service Provider, and they deem that you’re eligible for a repair — so long as you act by May 30, 2018. To be eligible, you need to have encountered “distorted video, no video, system instability, freezing, restarts, shut downs,” or system startup failure.

Notably, MacRumors claims these issues are known to persist in models bolstering both the AMD FirePro D500 and the D700 GPUs. The AMD FirePro D300, however, is curiously omitted.

Because this isn’t an urgent recall, unlike the AC adapter controversy we reported on last week, it’s not probable we’ll see a public statement about this repair program on Apple’s website, though MacRumors suggests that the company could end up getting in touch with some customers directly.

The video concerns at hand have been circulating the Web since February 2015, when an Apple Support Communities member initiated a thread that has amassed nearly 70 replies as of this writing. While it’s deplorable that it would take Apple nearly an entire year to address such a widespread concern, we can at least be grateful it’s finally attempting a sizable fix.

This news trails a story from last February where Apple addressed similar concerns by launching a Repair Extension Program for the 2011 to early 2013 MacBook Pros.